A Thanksgiving Story
It was the day before Thanksgiving -- the first one my three children and I would be spending without their father, who had left several months before. Now the two older children were very sick with the flu, and the eldest had just been prescribed bed rest for a week.
It was a cool, gray day outside, and a light rain was falling. I grew wearier as I scurried around, trying to care for each child: thermometers, juice, diapers. And I was fast running out of liquids for the children. But when I checked my purse, all I found was about $2.50 -- and this was supposed to last me until the end of the month. That’s when I heard the phone ring.
It was the secretary from our former church, and she told me that they had been thinking about us and had something to give us from the congregation. I told her that I was going out to pick up some more juice and soup for the children, and I would drop by the church on my way to the market.
I arrived at the church just before lunch. The church secretary met me at the door and handed me a special gift envelope. “We think of you and the kids often,” she said, “and you are in our hearts and prayers. We love you.” When I opened the envelope, I found two grocery certificates inside. Each was worth $20. I was so touched and moved, I broke down and cried.
“Thank you very much,” I said, as we hugged each other. “Please give our love and thanks to the church.” Then I drove to a store near our home and purchased some much-needed items for the children.
At the check-out counter I had a little over $14.00 worth of groceries, and I handed the cashier one of the gift certificates. She took it, then turned her back for what seemed like a very long time. I thought something might be wrong. Finally I said, “This gift certificate is a real blessing. Our former church gave it to my family, knowing I’m a single parent trying to make ends meet.“
The cashier then turned around, with tears in her loving eyes, and replied, “Honey, that’s wonderful! Do you have a turkey?”
“No. It’s okay because my children are sick anyway.”
She then asked, “Do you have anything else for Thanksgiving dinner?”
Again I replied, “No.”
After handing me the change from the certificate, she looked at my face and said, “Honey, I can’t tell you exactly why right now, but I want you to go back into the store and buy a turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie or anything else you need for a Thanksgiving dinner.”
I was shocked, and humbled to tears. “Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes! Get whatever you want. And get some Gatorade for the kids.”
I felt awkward as I went back to do some more shopping, but I selected a fresh turkey, a few yams and potatoes
, and some juices for the children. Then I wheeled the shopping cart up to the same cashier as before. As I placed my groceries on the counter, she looked at me once more with giant tears in her kind eyes and began to speak.
“Now I can tell you. This morning I prayed that I could help someone today, and you walked through my line.” She reached under the counter for her purse and took out a $20 bill. She paid for my groceries and then handed me the change. Once more I was moved to tears.
The sweet cashier then said, “I am a Christian. Here is my phone number if you ever need anything.” She then took my head in her hands, kissed my cheek and said, “God bless you, honey.”
As I walked to my car, I was overwhelmed by this stranger’s love and by the realization that God loves my family too, and shows us his love through this stranger’s and my church’s kind deeds.
The children were supposed to have spent Thanksgiving with their father that year, but because of the flu they were home with me, for a very special Thanksgiving Day. They were feeling better, and we all ate the goodness of the Lord’s bounty -- and our community’s love. Our hearts were truly filled with thanks.
留守儿童
现在,农村的留守儿童越来越多了,而他们大部分都是因为经济条件紧迫,父母被迫进城打工。
然而,面对记者“想不想爸爸妈妈”这个问题时,大多数儿童的回答都是“不想”。其实,产生这种想法并不为怪,因为有的父母在外打工,连孩子的学习、生活都不管不顾,甚至6年不回家一次!面对留守儿童的只有孤独......
2007年3月12日,我认识了一位叫刘莹莹的女孩,她告诉我,她也是留守儿童,不过还好,她的朋友不少。当我有点儿为她感到庆幸的时候,她却又补充了一句:“我的朋友和我一样,也都是留守儿童。”我听了,愣住了。
不!除了孤独,还有贫困围绕着他们。我在网上的视频资料上看到,一群志愿者随着记者来到了龙山小学,那里百分之七十八的学生是留守儿童,他们吃的是白米饭,没有任何菜。食堂里卖的唯一的菜就是一元钱一份的烧豆腐,可是,这个东西也不是所有人都吃得起的。当记者拿起他们保存已久不舍得吃的黑面包时才发现,那些面包已经变得僵硬了,不过孩子们还是留着那些黑面包。看到这儿,一位记者急忙掏出钱包,去给那些贫困的留守儿童买吃的。但是,那些孩子们没有吃,只是在记者们走后,才把东西藏进了书包里......
当我看到这些资料时,感到了一丝伤感,他们太可怜了!没有朋友,也没有好的生活条件,这是一般人想都想不到的苦日子!
让我们献出自己的爱心,共同帮助那些穷苦的留守儿童吧!其实,他们并不孤独,因为还有我们!
好A Thanksgiving Story
It was the day before Thanksgiving -- the first one my three children and I would be spending without their father, who had left several months before. Now the two older children were very sick with the flu, and the eldest had just been prescribed bed rest for a week.
It was a cool, gray day outside, and a light rain was falling. I grew wearier as I scurried around, trying to care for each child: thermometers, juice, diapers. And I was fast running out of liquids for the children. But when I checked my purse, all I found was about $2.50 -- and this was supposed to last me until the end of the month. That’s when I heard the phone ring.
可以下载翻译器,然后找篇中文故事翻译就行了